Trapped on a Cruise
by TWiSTER.GiRL.5458
Summary: Hermione goes on a cruise with her parents and finds-to her horror- that Draco Malfoy is there too. What will happen when she's trapped on the same boat as he is, and to make it worse, sleeping in the room across from her? R&R, please!
1. Chapter 1: The start of a nightmare

This is my first ever story. I hope you guys like. Tell me what you think.

Btw, this is before Harry, Ron and Hermione's 7th year. but in this story they already defeated Voldemort before that.

Enjoy!

(disclaimer: i don't and never will own harry potter. it's all J.K. Rowling's. tear)

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_Dear Harry, Ron and Ginny,_

_I'm sending this to all three of you so you'll know at the same time. I won't be at the Burrow until August 5. Harry, I know that's after your birthday and I'm really sorry that I have to miss your big one-seven, but my parents want me to spend more time with them- I don't blame them; I miss them too- and they also want to celebrate their 20th Anniversary with me. So, we're going on a ten-day cruise to the Bahamas. It's so exciting! They won a lottery at the clinic where they work that was celebrating its 25th Anniversary. I guess the clinic has been doing well because it's an all-expenses paid trip. I can't wait to go._

_I'll bring you guys back some souvenirs. We leave in two days. Try not to miss me too much. See you all in August!_

_Love, Hermione_

Harry, Ron and Ginny looked up at each other after Ginny read the letter out loud.

"Aw, man. I'm gonna miss Hermione," sighed Ginny. She truly was going to miss Hermione. She desperately wanted another female that she could relate to in the house andthere was no way that person was going to be her mom. Besides, there was enough testosterone in the house, although, she didn't mind Harry's adding to it._ Well, at least Hermione will have fun. _"Its great that she gets to spend more time with her parents, though."

"Especially if it's on a cruise-and to the Bahamas!" whistled Harry. Harry wondered what the Bahamas were like. He had heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia talk about going there a few times and it sounded like paradise. The hot summer sun, white sandy beaches and no worries. With all that Harry had been through and had to put up with, he suddenly felt a surge of envy flow through him. _She better bring me back a good present._

Ron, who had taken the letter from Ginny and was no re-reading it, looked up with a puzzled look on his face and asked, blankly, "What's a cruise?"

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Hermione could hardly fight off a smile as she walked up the ramp to the _Octavian. _In fact, she couldn't. A smile surfaced to her face as she squealed in delight.

"That excited, huh?" smiled her mother, Jane Granger.

"Beyond excited. It's so amazing. I mean, just look at it," gasped Hermione, spreading out her arms as if she had just woken up from a nap, "it's beautiful. I can't believe this is actually happening to me. It's like a dream come true." Hermione clasped her hands together as she admired the shine of the ship's hull. It gleamed in her eyes.

Hermione's father, Jonathan Granger, chuckled, "Come on, you. If it's this great outside, I wonder what it's going to be like inside. Let's go check in and find our rooms, then we can head back to the deck in time to wave good-bye to the people on the docks."

Hermione spun around, taking in the whole scene. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of the fresh summer air around her. In the course of what seemed a lot longer then one second, Hermione tried to imagined what the next week would be like. She expected it to be filled with nothing but sun, sweat and smiles-and that's what it would be, she would make sure of it.

Now that Voldemort was dead, Hermione intended to make sure that she would have the best summer yet. She was tired of always worrying about Harry and trying to soothe his fears. Those times were finally over now. It was time to focus on the one thing she deserved. Relaxation. That would be her motto. Besides, what better time than now, on a cruise with no one to cause her trouble, to practice her newfound motto?

When Hermione opened her eyes they were filled with determination. She would get what she wanted, and why not? She was smart enough and had just been part of the trio that had put an end to Voldemort. Nothing would or could get in her way. She was unstoppable.

"Sounds like a plan!" agreed Hermione. She grabbed her parents' hands and they headed up the remaining feet of the ramp. They followed the stream of people and took a right turn. They found themselves at a hall. There were three sets of large oak doors on one side of the hall with intricate designs of flowers and birds on the border. Glass doors that took up almost the entire wall of the other side of the wall overlooked the pools and the main deck. At the end of the hall was a framed opening that led to the lobby. It was filled with people going to and fro, finding and losing their way.

"Oh, my! This sure is a big place," said Hermione's mother, looking around, noting the confused looks a few of the passenger's faces.

In the lobby were couches and chairs around tables, spread out in corners and along the walls. To the sides of the lobby were hallways that led to shops, facilities and rooms. Up ahead was the front desk. The Grangers made for the center counter. There they checked in and were handed their room keys.

"Hmm...Room 456," muttered Hermione, inspecting her room key. _ I wonder what my room will be like... _Hermione started walking off and made it to the nearest shop, which happened to be Starbucks, when realization hit her. She stopped walking and turned to her parents. "That must mean it's on the fourth floor, but how do we get there?"

"Um, good question," said her mother, who figured Hermione would figure it out- just like she always did.

"Alright, Hermione, why don't you go back to the front desk, try the nearest counter, the one next the rack of postcards and that big plant, and your mother and I will be in the Starbucks while you go get a map. Deal?" offered her father. "They're bound to have some seeing as this ship is so huge."

"OK, deal," agreed Hermione. She spun around and was about to head to the counter when she turned back to her parents. "Decaf latte. Remember that."

Hermione headed to the counter. Lucky for her, the couple that was at the counter before her had finished with their business, just as she reached the counter. Hermione approached the counter and was met with the sight of a brightly smiling lady in a blue uniform. She saw the lady had a gold name tag on her uniform, it said: Sarah.

"Um, hi, Sarah?" said Hermione, "would you by any chance happen to have a map of the ship?"

"Of course, sweetie," replied Sarah. She bent down to grab a map, but the box she was reaching in was empty. "Oh, no. I'm out of maps. I must have given my last one to that couple. Hold on a sec, I'll be right back." The lady got up and hurried to the back of the counter and through a curtain.

"Oh, OK. Thanks," said Hermione, surprised at her quickness.

Hermione stood at the counter for a few seconds and then started to tap her fingers. She looked around and caught sight of the rack of postcards. _Hmm...might as well._

Hermione browsed through the postcards but found nothing of great interest to her. Sure, there were colorful cards, cards with birds, cards of sunsets or sunrises, others of beaches and hotels. Needless to say, none of them appealed to her. Then she remembered what she had come here for. Hermione looked back at the information counter.

It was still empty.

"She's still not back yet?" muttered Hermione to absolutely no one. _Where did she go? _

Hermione's eyes wandered to the Starbucks and saw her parents still in line. Hermione shook her head. _Muggles and their coffee. _She continued looking around the lobby and was about to return her gaze to the counter when she caught sight of a patch of very familiar, very blonde hair. Hair she remembered seeing before. Hair that triggered a chain of unwelcome memories.

Hermione squinted her eyes to make sure she saw correctly, only to have them grow wider and wider as realization and a daunting fear dawned on her. She could now clearly see who the patch of hair was attached to.

Hermione's jaw dropped.

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	2. Chapter 2: Muggles are so weird!

wow, sorry that took so long. been busy with the end of school.

thank you to all my reviewers!

anyways, here's the next chapter.

(disclaimer: i only own the plot and the ship, all else is belongs to JK Rowling)

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Draco Malfoy turned around and surveyed the scene before him. '_Ugh. I'm surrounded by Muggles!' _he thought, just as a Muggle bumped into him. Draco scowled. _'I can't believe Mother thought this was a good idea. This place is repulsive!'_

Ever since Lucius Malfoy died in the Great War, Narcissa Malfoy had been trying to get over his death by escaping into the muggle world. She dragged Malfoy with her thinking that they both needed a break from the wizarding world. Apparently, she thought that this cruise would be a good chance for them to both get away from all of their troubles and be able to distress.

Draco thought it was a bunch of bull.

Draco continued his survey of the lobby and thought he saw a mass of brown curls scurry behind a rack of postcards. '_Ugh. Muggles are so weird!'_

"Draco, darling," said Narcissa Malfoy, making Draco turn back around to his mother, "go to the front desk and see if you can't get a map of this ship. I can't seem to make heads or tails of this place."

Draco sighed. He did not want to have to communicate with the Muggles. In fact, he was trying to avoid it at all costs. However, his mother was an exception. Draco understood the stress his mother was under so he complied without complaint.

"Yes, Mother," said Draco, he turned on his heel and strode away.

Narcissa sunk onto a nearby chair. She looked back at Draco then put her head in her hands. _'I hope this works out. Dumbledore had better be right.'_

_xxx_

"So sorry about that, sweetie," started Sarah, the lady at the counter, emerging from the curtain at the back of the front desk, "but they hid the box behind the-huh?" Sarah walked back to her desk only to find that absolutely no one was at the counter. All she saw was a tall, blonde young man walking towards the counter. "Where did she go?"

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Jonathan and Jane Granger were still in line at the Starbucks. The couple in front of them were buying for ten people and apparently were arguing over what the other people from their party wanted. Jonathan Granger turned back to the front desk to see what had happened to his daughter. However, in the place of his bushy brown-haired daughter, he saw a tall, blonde young man at the counter.

"Huh?" said Jonathan Granger, "where did she go?"

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Hermione could not believe it. Draco Malfoy was making his way over to the counter. _'Oh, no! Oh, no!' _thought Hermione. She was starting to panic. She ran behind the postcard rack and tried to hide herself in leaves of the huge potted plant next to her. Squeezing herself between the plant and the postcard rack she peered through the gaps in the rack. _'Gosh, it's a good thing I'm wearing this green __jacket that Ginny gave me for my birthday, it might help me blend in with the plant better. Note to self: get Ginny a good birthday present.'_

Draco approached the counter and Hermione heard him ask for a map- just like she did. The only difference this time was that the lady, Sarah had come back and had a full stock of maps. _'Sheesh! Now she shows up. Could she have been any slower?'_

Draco took his map and saw the rack of postcards. He had no idea what those were for. Curiosity took over. He turned his attention to the cards and started to browse through the same cards as Hermione had. He took his time, turning the cards back and forth, reading the captions, then turning the rack to look for more cards.

_'Oh, come on, those cards aren't that interesting! Just take your map and leave so I can get mine.' _screamed Hermione inside her mind. She could not believe it. Of all the people in the wizarding-no, the entire world, Draco Malfoy had to choose the same cruise to ride on. Hermione continued screaming in her mind. _'What is he even doing here? Cruises are a muggle thing. The words "muggle" and "Malfoy" don't even belong in the same sentence. Oh crap! I just used them in the same sentence. Gah!'_

Hermione saw Draco continue to turn the rack. She started her mind-ranting again. _'Why is he still here? Why on earth would a Malfoy be interested in such muggle things? Don't just stand there, get going. This is ridiculous. If he keeps on turning that rack he might see me through the holes. You have somewhere to be, don't you- Oh, SNAP! He's going to SEE me! Crapcrapcrap!' _Hermione's heart beat faster and faster as she realized that at any moment Draco might notice her there,on the floor, crouching in fear. She scooted back as fast as she could to try to avoid letting Draco see her.

Bang!

Too fast.

"Ow!" cried out Hermione, rubbing the back of her head then immediately biting her lip as she realized that Draco would have heard that.

He did.

"What the-" Draco was startled by the sound that Hermione made as she hit her head against the wall. Draco peered through the holes in the rack. _'Is that a body?' _Again, curiosity took over. Draco walked around the rack and came face-to-face with the sight of a girl huddled beneath the leaves a huge potted plant. _'Muggles are so weird!'_

Draco looked at the sight before him. Here, in front of him, was a girl with her head between her knees, with one hand holding her hair and the other rubbing the back of her head. He continued to stare at the girl. She was wearing an olive-green suede jacket and a pair of jeans. For the finishing touches, matching, or not so matching, her outfit were sneakers.

Theses were no ordinary sneakers though, these were gold sneakers with red laces and bright red rhinestones along the borders of the shoe. Hermione had made them with Ginny before the summer started as an outrageous act of celebration after Voldemort was defeated.

Draco raised an eyebrow and was about to laugh until the shoes began to remind him, the Gryffindors. At that thought he grabbed in stomach and felt like he was going to barf. Discarding the postcards back onto the rack, Draco turned around and walked off in disgust.

_'Is he gone?' _Hermione summoned her Gryffindor courage to open you eyes and lift her head up to look around. Seeing that Draco's feet were no longer in front of her she concluded that he had left, but you could never be too sure when it came to Draco.

The coast was clear. Hermione sighed out in relief, _'Phew. That was close.'_ She hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until she let it out. Pausing to catch her breath, she checked to make sure the blonde ego had truly gone. After catching her breath until she was breathing normally again, she stood up and brushed down her clothes. _'Alright, now where is that map that started this whole mess?'_

Sarah was arranging maps on her desk when she was startled by the sudden appearance of a certain missing-but-not-missing-anymore brunette's head popping out of nowhere.

Sarah jumped.

Papers scattered.

"Oh my! There you are, dear. Here you go," said the lady as she handed a map to a rather nervous Hermione.

"Er...th-thanks," stammered Hermione, quickly taking the map, then turning and hurrying back to her parents.

"Enjoy your stay!" called out Sarah, but Hermione had already walked away and was lost in the crowd at the Starbucks before she could even finish her sentence.

"Sorry for taking so long," Hermione said as she approached her parents. "Um, I got the map," Hermione said showing her parents the foldout map.

"Oh, thank you, dear," said her mom, "I was just telling your father-"

"That's nice, mom," Hermione quickly cut in. "You got my drink? Thanks."

Hermione picked up her drink before quickly ushering her parents to their feet. "Lets find our rooms, the sooner the better. We should get settled in and familiarize ourselves, don't you think?" Hermione guided-actually, it was more like pushed- her mother through the crowd.

"Sweetie, what's the big rush?" asked an exasperated Jane Granger.

"Are you okay? You seem a little nervous," added her father.

"Ner-nervous? Me? Wh-why would I be nervous?" stammerd Hermione.

Hermione was, in fact, nervous. Almost more nervous than Neville Longbottom would be if he were surrounded a clone army of Snapes- after causing a massive explosion in the dungeons that leveled the entire castle.

Almost.

"I don't know what would have done it, but you're talking funny," said her mother.

"And your eyes are darting everywhere-like you're afraid you're going to be attacked at any moment," said her father.

"Talking funny? My eyes?" Hermione said a little too quickly. She glanced. To the right. Left. Right, again. "Oh, don't be ridiculous!" laughed Hermione, weakly. She shunned her parent's observations with a wave of her hand.

"See! You're doing it again," accused her father, pointing a finger at Hermione's still darting eyes.

"I- I- I'm... excited, yes, that's it!" stammered Hermione once more. "I'm just excited. That's all. Honest!" Hermione explained, holding up her hands. Staring at her parents' unbelieving faces, she thought it best to get back to what was going on before this awkward conversation. She quickly turned around and made a beeline to a staircase.

_'Oh crap! I can't let them know that I'm nervous because of a boy. Stupid Malfoy! Why did he need a map? Why did he walk to my counter? Why is he even here? Oh, gosh! He's here. He could attack me at any moment. He knows enough hexes. Goodness only knows what the war has taught him. He could be behind that tree-or that staircase. Or that desk! That person! Door...Chair...Cup! Crap! I'm glancing again-and being ridiculous. Focus, Hermione. Focus!'_

"Hermione!" called her mother, "where are you going?"

"Huh? Uh-" Hermione looked at where she was standing. Pausing for a moment to take in her surroundings and remember what she was doing. _'Oh, right.' _"I already checked the map," answered back Hermione, calling over her shoulder and continuing her journey to their rooms.

Jonathan and Jane Granger looked at each other before they rushed off after their daughter-knowing full well that Hermione would have undoubtedly memorized the map.

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hope that was good. R&R!


	3. Reminiscing the past

"Here's your key," said Narcissa, handing her son the key to his room. "I'm in the room to your left."

Narcissa watched as Draco dragged his feet into his room. The door shut tight behind him. Narcissa went inside her room and sighed as she thought about the events that had led her to this place.

_Draco had narrowly escaped becoming one of the Dark Lord's servants. When the date of his induction was announced he set into action his long-planned escape. His mother and father assisted him, knowing that were he to go into the Dark Lord's service he would be on the side they knew was the losing side. The side where death was almost certain. Even if he escaped death, he would live life on the run. Escaping the ministry and hiding in random places until, hopefully, his name could be cleared. _

_This was not the life Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had planned for their son. They helped him by faking a sickness and having him sent to St. Mungo's. Then they smuggled him out of the hospital and sent him to the Americas. When the war was over, he came back. Simple, yet, dangerous. _

_Draco tossed and turned every night while he was in hiding. He was always alert, scared that he may have been followed. His sudden sickness had aroused many suspicions. Only hours after he had escaped from the hospital, Death Eaters had swarmed the building. No one knew what they were looking for. But Draco knew. He knew they were after him. Now, Draco knew the most important fact to his safety- that he would never be safe._

_When he came back, Draco was faced with a world that now shamed the Malfoy name. They had branded him a coward for running away. Taunting him for acting like a 'scaredy-cat'. Then, to make matters worse, Lucius died._

_Narcissa thought back to that bleak day... _

_She and Draco had gone to Azkaban shortly after Lucius had been put on trial. They were led to his cell and what they saw horrified Narcissa. Lying in a dank corner of a cramped room was her husband. His usually perfect mane was now covered in grime and looked as if it had never seen a comb. His clothes were torn and caked with dirt. His skin was, if possible, paler than ever. To his wife, Lucius looked like a ghost. To Draco, his father looked like what he might have looked like had he stayed and been captured-as a Death Eater. _

_Moments before he died Lucius whispered to Draco, "Draco, don't fail me. Don't fail the Malfoy name. Be who I couldn't be."_

_Draco nodded at those words and promised his father that as long as he lived, the Malfoy name would never be tarnished with failure. _

_Lucius clasped Draco's hand, firmly, proudly. Then, he smiled at Draco. A genuine smile of a proud father. A smile that Draco had only received twice before. _

"_My boy," whispered Lucius. "My son."_

_As Lucius' grip slackened, a lone tear trickled down Draco's cheek, and Lucius' life left his body. _

_Draco stepped back from his father's body and went to his mother's side who was now shaking and breaking out in tears. _

_Two days later, after the funeral, Draco shut himself in his room for three days straight. He never came out. Not a sound could be heard coming from his room. Half the house-elves thought him dead-were it not for the lone letter that appeared under his door every morning, stating what he wanted to eat that day. _

_Narcissa was worried and did not know what to do about Draco. _

_Then, on the fourth morning, before Draco came down for breakfast, Dumbledore's letter appeared._

_Narcissa walked to the dining room and saw the barn owl on the dining table, cleaning its feathers. A white envelope lay at its feet. Narcissa walked towards the table and picked up and scanned the letter, wondering why on earth Dumbledore would be sending her a letter._

_As Narcissa opened the letter, questions flooded her mind. Her brow furrowed as she read the letter. It got deeper and deeper as she finished the letter. All Narcissa could think of was why Dumbledore thought that this was going to be a good plan. She sighed and after a few moments of deep thinking she concluded that this was, perhaps, the best thing for her and Draco._

Narcissa sighed again. She looked around her room and waved her wand, making a few adjustments. Then she unpacked and made herself a cup of tea.


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